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FBG Movie Club: We're Getting the Band Back Together: Metallica vs Nina Simone Movie Docs (3 Viewers)

I currently have

  • Netflix

    Votes: 9 90.0%

  • Amazon Prime

    Votes: 9 90.0%

  • HBO Max

    Votes: 8 80.0%

  • Hulu

    Votes: 8 80.0%

  • Disney+

    Votes: 6 60.0%

  • Criterion

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • TCM Chanel

    Votes: 6 60.0%
  • Total voters
    10
I am also struggling with the horror selections, but I promise they will get decided on - usually we announced the next pair on the Friday after we start the discussions, and that is my target, but at the latest I will get them to everybody by Sunday since I will have a little more time to dig over the weekend for sure.  What I am battling is:

1.  I am mad that the movies I liked were taken away, and I really liked that idea/theme.

2.  Do I go more "classic" movies that probably most people have seen?  We usually try to get something new for most in there.  

3.  One of the movies I wanted for the original idea is still on Kanopy.  I could do a play on the same theme, but I guess I should ask - would people be willing to look into Kanopy for that movie, is that service available to most in here, and/or are people willing to rent it? It looks like it's $2.99 on Amazon/YouTube, etc..   Also, the pairing with it might be a little cheesy, so that is making me a hesitant, but I will deal with the backlash, as I think the theme is interesting enough for discussion.  

 
I have never heard of Kanopy. Depending on the movie and whether or not I have seen it before, I may pay the $2.99 on Amazon.

 
prosopis said:
I have never heard of Kanopy. Depending on the movie and whether or not I have seen it before, I may pay the $2.99 on Amazon.
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@prosopis I pimped Kanopy in the other movie thread.  Somehow it's linked through libraries and schools - you get 10 free movies a month (again, if your library supports it) but they have a lot of foreign, indie, Criterion, etc... to choose from.  It's a nice addition  to other sub services and gets me access to movies I grumble about NF, Prime, and Hulu not having.  

 
KarmaPolice said:
Sorry, I am a little behind on the watching.  I have about 40mins left of OP, and I think I need to stew on it for a day before posting.  It is hitting me a little more than I thought, though.  Maybe a couple things too close to home watching my wife go through her battles with mental illness.  
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Pretty grim movies this month, it will be nice to get to something lighter in October like a psycho axe murderer or a child possessed by Satan. 

 
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The level of craftsmanship in Ordinary People is remarkable.  Every element of the film is excellent, from the strong performances to a well constructed script and understated technique that underscores the story without distracting the audience.  It's become something of a controversial Oscar selection because it's the antithesis of the more flashy Raging Bull but I think Ordinary People is a quality production that stands the test of time.

Alvin Sargent's script does a great job of revealing character at the appropriate time.  It immediately sets a tone of superficial normalcy with darker currents running beneath and spends the rest of the film bringing those to the surface.  The flashbacks to Buck's death are the film's only cinematic trickery but it makes sense in the context of Conrad's self discovery.  The psychiatrist scenes were well written, gradually exposing the truth from Conrad's perspective.

I hadn't watched Ordinary People for nearly 40 years but I was surprised how much of it came back to me upon rewatching. 

 
I thought it was interesting that the Pied Piper of Hamelin motif that resonated so powerfully in The Sweet Hereafter wasn't part of the Russell Banks novel from which the film was adapted.  Director Atom Egoyan came up with the idea of the Browning poem that accentuated the dreamlike style of the movie.  The film's mysterious score and sound design helped in this regard as well. 

The original novel took the Rashomon approach of using multiple subjective narrators who each told their side of the story.

 
One I have liked but is pay on Amazon and probably not seen by many here -

Regarded as Mario Bava's most personal and unconventional film, LISA AND THE DEVIL is a diabolical thriller flavored with the dreadful imagery and tormenting logic of an endless nightmare. Elke Sommer stars as a tourist in Spain who, upon seeing the image of a bald, grinning devil in an ancient fresco, wanders away from her group and finds herself drawn into a confounding labyrinth of mystery — lured ever deeper by a mysterious figure (Telly Savalas) who may in fact be the fresco's Satan made flesh.

 
KarmaPolice said:
I am also struggling with the horror selections, but I promise they will get decided on - usually we announced the next pair on the Friday after we start the discussions, and that is my target, but at the latest I will get them to everybody by Sunday since I will have a little more time to dig over the weekend for sure.  What I am battling is:

1.  I am mad that the movies I liked were taken away, and I really liked that idea/theme.

2.  Do I go more "classic" movies that probably most people have seen?  We usually try to get something new for most in there.  

3.  One of the movies I wanted for the original idea is still on Kanopy.  I could do a play on the same theme, but I guess I should ask - would people be willing to look into Kanopy for that movie, is that service available to most in here, and/or are people willing to rent it? It looks like it's $2.99 on Amazon/YouTube, etc..   Also, the pairing with it might be a little cheesy, so that is making me a hesitant, but I will deal with the backlash, as I think the theme is interesting enough for discussion.  
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I’ll pay the Amazon fee.  I’m excited for your choices as horror is a genre I haven’t spent much time in, but your suggestions have always been great.

 
I'd probably be out on paying for a horror movie, especially if it's a gory one.  I had a brief horror phase in the early VHS days but my taste for blood has diminished greatly as I've gotten older. 

Parental melodrama isn't really my thing either :shrug:

 
Eephus said:
I'd probably be out on paying for a horror movie, especially if it's a gory one.  I had a brief horror phase in the early VHS days but my taste for blood has diminished greatly as I've gotten older. 

Parental melodrama isn't really my thing either :shrug:
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Would you watch the horror if free?  Wasn’t clear from your post.

 
More of a horror suspense guy rather than the gore. I like a good plot I can’t figure out in the first 30 minutes.

 
Anyway...

Both of THIS MONTH'S films made very effective use of silence.  Ordinary People was a quiet movie with very infrequent use of incidental music.  Unfortunately, the Amazon print had a lot of hiss. 

The Sweet Hereafter had a more expressionistic sound design.  Mychael Danna's score was a mix of medieval and minimalism.  It wasn't used often so when it comes in, it made an impact.  There are also lots of dogs barking and birds chirping in the background if you listen closely.  I assume that was an artistic decision because they're obviously added in post-production.

 
I noticed the dogs and birds as well. Was it to add a rural, small town feel? That was my assumption- to separate it from the big city is ways of the lawyer

 
I like horror- especially in October. It’s just a genre I don’t myself gravitating towards any other month. I would pay to rent a movie if I hadn’t seen it or had and really like me it.

 
Observations about 'Ordinary People' :

-- loved the scenes with MTM isolated from Sutherland and/or  Hutton.  The one when they're at the dinner table, the camera shot from behind them and off in the distance is MTM in the kitchen.  Also when she was inside looking out the window at Hutton.  She goes outside so they can hold 2 separate conversations.  She might as well have stayed behind the glass.

-- Judd Hirsch doing the psychiatry thing as well as anyone.  Reminiscent of Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting.

-- Elizabeth McGovern....what a delightful girl-next-door

-- All of the characters are truly ordinary people.  We all know people like each of them:  a parent who worships one child and generally ignores another.  The never-rock-the-boat Dad.  the younger sibling who can't ever live up to his older brother/sister.  Immense tragedy strikes them, and they all handle it in different and plausible ways.

It's a beautiful, sad, raw, authentic story.  Uplifting in a collateral way, at least for Dad and son.

Observations about 'Sweet Hereafter' : 

-- gut-wrenching grief envelops a small rural town, with a myriad of ways that people respond to the devastation.

-- Sarah Polley (Nicole), where have you been?  Have always loved her work.

-- The lawyer (Ian Holm) who has essentially lost her own daughter,  trying to win money for any parents he can sign up.  Seemed to me he was trying to succeed at something, in spite of (what he sees as ) his personal failure.

-- Events are often just pure accidents and blame-free.  Many, many people cannot accept that when the worst sort of things fall into their lives.

-- Not so uplifting at all.  But again, raw, and real.

 
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KarmaPolice said:
@prosopis I pimped Kanopy in the other movie thread.  Somehow it's linked through libraries and schools - you get 10 free movies a month (again, if your library supports it) but they have a lot of foreign, indie, Criterion, etc... to choose from.  It's a nice addition  to other sub services and gets me access to movies I grumble about NF, Prime, and Hulu not having.  
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I will have to look into this.

 
identikit said:
Observations about 'Sweet Hereafter' : 

-- Events are often just pure accidents and blame-free.  Many, many people cannot accept that when the worst sort of things fall into their lives.
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Fabulous post overall, but I particularly loved this observation.

Also, I’m with you on both Judd Hirsch and Sarah Polley.  Where did she go?  I always loved her, too.

 
identikit said:
Observations about 'Ordinary People' :

-- loved the scenes with MTM isolated from Sutherland and/or  Hutton.  The one when they're at the dinner table, the camera shot from behind them and off in the distance is MTM in the kitchen.  Also when she was inside looking out the window at Hutton.  She goes outside so they can hold 2 separate conversations.  She might as well have stayed behind the glass.

-- Judd Hirsch doing the psychiatry thing as well as anyone.  Reminiscent of Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting.

-- Elizabeth McGovern....what a delightful girl-next-door

-- All of the characters are truly ordinary people.  We all know people like each of them:  a parent who worships one child and generally ignores another.  The never-rock-the-boat Dad.  the younger sibling who can't ever live up to his older brother/sister.  Immense tragedy strikes them, and they all handle it in different and plausible ways.

It's a beautiful, sad, raw, authentic story.  Uplifting in an collateral way, at least for Dad and son.
Click to expand...
Great post, and echoes so many of my thoughts.   I did start thinking about how much Good Will took from this movie, especially the final scene with those two when he goes to his office.  

MTM has so many great heartbreaking scenes and "looks".  The ended crushed me how she still couldn't let herself breakdown and really feel the gravity of what's going on.  Maybe because I was in horror mode, the look she was giving Sutherland when he was at the dinner table was a bit terrifying.  

 
Props to 80s for another great pairing.  Sweet Hereafter is one I wanted to suggest for the movie club, but didn't think it would be easy to get a good double feature, but he nailed it - especially impressive since he said he had not seen either.   We will have to try that idea again! 

 
I know somebody brought up how the Ice Storm would fit right in with these.  Totally agree - I love that movie, and it's one that I use to make my case of why 1997 was one of the best years ever for movies.  

 
Eephus said:
Anybody here ever read any Russell Banks?
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Cloudsplitter is immense, one of the half-dozen great books of this era. Unfortunately, it made me give up both historical novels i was writing cuz it made me aware of just what a piker i was. My best friend thought he was helping by turning me onto it while i was mining a similar vein and it ruined me. Read Continetnal Drift, too - quite good.

 
KarmaPolice said:
Props to 80s for another great pairing.  Sweet Hereafter is one I wanted to suggest for the movie club, but didn't think it would be easy to get a good double feature, but he nailed it - especially impressive since he said he had not seen either.   We will have to try that idea again! 
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Thanks,  I’m glad it worked out and I’m glad I finally saw OP. It seems the conversation has become “Raging Bull should have won” but after seeing OP, I’m not convinced that the Academy was wrong. It’s not as loud or brash or flashy as RB but it’s maybe a better movie.

 
Enjoy isn't the right word but I'm glad I watched both films.  Neither was on my unmanageably long Amazon watchlist.  I've added a couple other Atom Egoyan movies to my queue but finding the right time for something heavy can be a challenge.

 
Looks like we will end up with about 13 votes, I’m hoping we can sustain 13-20 through the rest of football season.

 
wikkidpissah said:
Cloudsplitter is immense, one of the half-dozen great books of this era. Unfortunately, it made me give up both historical novels i was writing cuz it made me aware of just what a piker i was. My best friend thought he was helping by turning me onto it while i was mining a similar vein and it ruined me. Read Continetnal Drift, too - quite good.
Click to expand...
I've read quite a bit of his work and think Cloudsplitter is likely his best. It feels authentic somehow. I like Affliction immensely, though, and others he's done. Less a fan of The Darling but it was a departure for him.

 
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